Idaho’s reclusive promised land

I haven’t heard such enthusiastic, downright raucous applause since Texas Gov. “Oops” Perry suggested in 2009 that his state just might withdraw from the union. Unfortunately for him, the applauders weren’t Texans. They were the people of the other 49 states.

This year, though, Idaho is the recipient of hip-hip-hoorays from across the country. Why? Because it’s the site of an extraordinary new town-to-be named “III Citadel.”

This will be a walled, heavily-fortified, one-square-mile settlement of some 7,000 armed and angry, ideologically pure, anti-government extremists drawn from cities, towns, and gopher holes all across America. Lucky you, Idaho!

Town founder and apocalyptic visionary Christian Allen Kerodin says the Roman numeral III in the name of his scheme represents what he calls the “3 percenters.” Have you heard of them?

They’re the American survivalists capable of withstanding the coming economic doomsday and social upheaval. He says that, once established, he and his fellow Citadellians will take it upon themselves to restore America to Americans.

“The Southwest will be purged of Latinos,” he explains. “Enclaves of Muslims, such as in Detroit, will be culled… by fed-up Americans looking for some payback.”

In Kerodin’s barricaded utopia, everyone older than 13 “must possess an AR-15 assault rifle, five magazines, and 1,000 rounds of ammunition.” In an odd comparison, he declares that his last bastion of liberty will be like Disneyland — “a walled, gated private property.” Yeah — only goofier than the one with the real Goofy.

Of course, the III in the Citadel’s name could also refer to Kerodin’s three felony convictions.

Nonetheless, he’s doing America a favor if he can actually bring 7,000 like-minded zealots into his compound. Once they’re inside, we can sneak up and lock the gates from the outside.